Today’s weather was pretty good for a December launch. Temperatures were in the 50's most of the day and while we had almost no sun to help it feel warm, the winds were light througout. NAR GSD & EHD contests were flown. There were 48 flyers making 139 flights and we burned a total of 18,195 NS of propellant (a new CATO record)! This is equal to a 3/4 "N" motor!

Joshua Drummond can be seen talking with the crowd that gathered around Andromeda, the rocket he planned to certify L2 with. The flight was awesome to watch, but the the 18' chute failed to inflate after deployment. The rocket sustained repairable damage and will fly again (Perhaps on an M2500T for an L3 attempt)? Josh successfully made L2 later in the day with a different rocket. In the center photo, Josh is getting help lifting the 80 lb. rocket onto the pad. At right, lift-off on an Aerotech L1120W.

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Here is another view of Andromeda just after ignition. Look at all the cornstalk debris that was kicked up by the incredible motor!

Three rocketeers connecting igniters.  Austin Sullivan get his Big Daddy ready to fly.

Todd Harrison readies his 4" Standard ARM for flight on an Ellis Mountain I150, while his dad looks on. At center, Brian Sullivan preps his Estes AMRAAM for a flight on a C6. Finally, Steve Young hooks up the igniter on his Aerotech Initiator before a flight on a G80T.

Steve Young's Initiator zips skyward on a G80T. An Estes Big Daddy (Len Haze's or Mike Casey's) making a break for the sky on a White Lightning E motor.  Kevin Cuomo's Aerotech Strong ARM boosts on a G40W. On the right Brady Lee's Big Bertha drag races with Mike Silvia's.

"Rocket" Joe Mihalcik's Apire loaded with an F50T waits for the LCO to push the button. Len Haze gives his K-20 Mars Snooper clone a final check. Josh Drummond stands proudly with his "Sky Digger" after making L2 on his second try. He used a J420R to lift it for a perfect flight. Seven (7) different flights were made with the new Redline propellant.

Redline Bonanza! On the left, Ron Verrilli's LOC Warlock boosts on a I218R. At center is Jay Calvert's Shadow Technology. This rocket flew a red, white and blue motor combination. An I285R got it moving off the pad and then it airstarted two I200Ws and finally a pair of F39Ts. The main failed to deploy, but the dual drouges helped to prevent massive damage. On the right is Rick Polzello's Endeavor flying on a J315R to a reported 3,956 feet.

A pair of Patriots. Dave Sousa's 1/4 scale Patriot zooms skyward from the flightline on an I161W. On the right, Rick Polzello's 1/4 scale Patriot burns an I218R on it's way to a reported 1,741 feet.

Anyone wishing to contribute images please use the "upload photos" link on the CATO home page.  You can also e-mail photos or information to Rick Polzello or Jay Calvert. PLEASE limit email messages to no more than 3MB at a time!

LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS and STATS:

Certification Flights: Josh Drummond made two attempts for L2 and was finally successful with his "Sky Digger" on a J420R. Congratulations!

Cluster Flights: Mike Borges flew his "Mean Green Machine" on a cluster of C6's. Barry Wilcock flew his "Fast Boy" on four C6's. Alex Immerman had a bunch of Estes impulse in his 5 motor LOC Stovi. George Boulas flew his two-stage Fat Boy with a clustered booster. Jay Calvert airstarted a pair of clusters in "Shadow Technology". Rick Polzello used a pair of F32s to get the maximum 160 NS allowed in his GSD entry.

Multistage Flights: Joey Bender flew his Monggose on a C to B combination. George Boulas flew his Aerobee 150A on D12 to D12 power twice. George also flew a 2 stage clustered Fat Boy. Joey Daley flew his Xmas colored "Double Trouble" on D12s. Alex Giosa launched his Comanche 3 on a two stage flight with C6's. Jeannine Lawall flew "Zenith 2" a couple of times with a C6 to B6 combo. Finally, brian Sullivan sent "Freedom" up on C6 to C6 power.

Catos: Alex Immerman had an Aerotech H210R burn through the delay o-rings and cause ejection while his Nighthawk was still boosting. It wasn't hurt too badly and should fly again.

Notable flights: Josh Drummond flew his Andromeda on an L1120W. (see above) Sean Hogan managed to rip a fin off his nice 7.3 x Mosquito with an H268R.

Contests: Today's NAR Open Meet featured two events: E Helicopter Duration (multi-round) and G Streamer Duration (multi-round).  Prizes were awarded for the top four places in GSD(MR).  A and B Divisions were combined in GSD (MR).

CATO 54 Open Meet

NAME / DIVISION	TIME (SECONDS)	PLACE	CONTEST POINTS	PRIZE
GSD (MR)
John Poulin (C)	332	1st	360	TLP Indigo kit $10 PML certificate
Les Kurz (C)	313	2nd	216	Aerotech F25-4W motor
Ulf Jonsson (C)	246	3rd	144	Estes MK-109 Sting Ray kit
Rick Polzello (C)	152	4th	72	Estes A8-3 motors
Jay Calvert (C)	DQ	-	-
Alex Immerman (B)	89	1st	360
Spencer Poulin (A)	35	2nd	216
EHD (MR)
Les Kurz (C)	108	1st	560
John Poulin (C)	DQ	-	-
Jay Calvert (C)	DQ	-	-
CATO54 Meet Totals
Les Kurz (C)		1st	776
John Poulin (C)		2nd (tie)	360
Alex Immerman (B)		2nd (tie)	360
Spencer Poulin (A)		3rd	216
Ulf Jonsson (C)		4th	144
Rick Polzello (C)		5th	72
Jay Calvert (C)		-	0
Year to Date Totals (2000/2001 contest season)
John Poulin (C)		1st	1592
Jay Calvert (C)		2nd	1448
Les Kurz (C)		3rd	1004
Rick Polzello (C)		4th	588
Alex Immerman (B)		5th	360
Spencer Poulin (A)		6th	216
Sean Hogan (C)		7th	192
Ulf Jonsson (C)		8th	144
Alex Calvert (A)		9th	120
Rob Bazinet (C)		10th	104
Jeannine Lawall (C)		11th	0